The Trump administration on Monday succeeded in temporarily halting New York from banning federal law enforcement from wearing face coverings.
A federal judge in Albany preliminarily enjoined the law that took effect in June.
“[B]ecause the United States has shown a likelihood that the [Face Covering and Identification Acts] violate the Supremacy Clause, it has also shown that both the public interest and balance of the equities tip the scale in favor of granting the request for a preliminary injunction,” wrote Judge Mae A. D’Agostino of the US District Court for the Northern District of New York.
New York in June became the latest state sued by the Trump administration over a local law that seeks to regulate what federal officers may and may not wear within the state when carrying out their official duties. Officers who violate the statute face criminal penalties.
The face covering and identification provisions violate the supremacy clause of the US Constitution, the US government said in its lawsuit.
The lawsuit also sought to halt another law that requires local governments, agencies, and correctional and detention facilities to terminate enforcement-related agreements with the US by Aug. 25. The judge said the US failed to show at this stage that law likely discriminates against the government and denied the US a preliminary injunction enjoining its enforcement.
New York in turn has sued the Trump administration to protect the same package of laws targeted in the federal government’s complaint. D’Agostino presides over that case, as well.
The case is U.S. of Am. v. Russo, N.D.N.Y., No. 1:26-cv-01360, order 8/3/26.